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Non-Aligned Movement (NAM)

The death of Fidel Castro was not unexpected. He died at 90, even as he had faced hundreds of assassination attempts by the CIA and its associates. In The Hindu, I wrote an appreciation of Fidel's role as the voice of the Third World. It drew from my memories of hearing him speak at the 1983 Non-Aligned Movement meeting in New Delhi and the 2001 World Conference Against Racism. 'Castro, for the Third World', I wrote, 'was not merely another leader. He was the mirror of its aspirations. That mirror is now shattered'. You can read the short essay here. A longer discussion

Forgive me for coming to you with so much to read. But so be it. Too many things happening in the world; too much to cover.

Syria.

The ceasefire in Syria is now slated to be extended for another forty-eight hours. Each time it is extended that is a relief for the people who are trapped by this war. No such ceasefire is in place for Yemen, which was bombed on Eid by Saudi war planes. Nonetheless, for Syria this is a brief respite. Aid is not able to get to besieged places as it should - according to the UN.